Goal has €7m in funding withheld over US investigation

Government holds back money from agency over inquiry into Syria aid operations

A senior manager has resigned from Goal and the Government has withheld a further €7 million in funding from the aid agency. Photograph: Goalglobal.org

A senior manager has resigned from Goal and the Government has withheld a further €7 million in funding from the aid agency as the fallout continues over a US investigation into international aid operations in Syria.

A Goal spokesman confirmed Jonathan Edgar had resigned but declined to comment further.

As chief operations officer, Mr Edgar was a key figure at Goal during a period of major expansion, having joined the agency when it was led by its founding chief executive, John O’Shea.

Goal and other agencies operating in Syria were ordered to halt procurement using some American funds earlier this year, as the US government’s foreign aid arm, USAid, began an investigation into alleged bribery and bid-rigging.

Last June, the Department of Foreign Affairs withheld €2.95 million in humanitarian funding for Goal.

A spokesman yesterday confirmed that, “pending further clarification” on the investigation, a further €7.16 million in long-term development funding had since been held back, bringing the total to €10.1 million.